Non-Traditional Easter Sweets

Do Easter baskets conjure up memories of jelly beans, chocolate bunnies and candy eggs? Well, then you are not alone! These have all come to be staples in Easter baskets for kids everywhere. Daily Mom has brought you some great and unique non-candy Easter Basket Ideas this year. However, if some sweet treats are still on your Easter shopping list, you have come to the right place. Holidays always seem like the perfect time to let your little ones have that “extra special treat” but it is still important to be consciousness about what they are putting into their little bodies. We have rounded up an amazing collection of sweet ideas that you can feel good about putting in their bodies, and their Easter Baskets.

You should be the biggest advocate for your child’s health and wellness! In order to do that, it is important to educate yourself on what your kids eat. Before you load up their baskets this year, be sure to check out our articles on Children and Food Additives and Children and Sugar. It is so easy to write things off as occasional sweet treats. Yet today, there are so many healthier options out there that you will have plenty of treats to choose from!

Know Your Labels!

Often times, food comes with so many labels or certifications it is hard to distinguish what they each mean. Being conscious of what goes into your body, and your family, is one of the keys to being an aware consumer. These are three common certifications you will see throughout this article; Fair Trade Certified, Organic and Non-GMO Certified.

Fair Trade Certified: Fair Trade Certified: Fair Trade is all about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. A fair trade product requires companies to pay sustainable prices, never falling lower than the market price. It addresses the injustices of conventional trade, which traditionally discriminates against the poorest, weakest producers.

Organic: Organic means, food that is “produced without using harmful or toxic pesticides, sewage sludge or petroleum-based synthetic fertilizers, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), bioengineering, or ionizing radiation.” Food products labeled “organic” must contain at least 95 percent organic ingredients. There is also “made with organic ingredients,” which is a label that can be put on products that contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients. Any product that is labeled “organic” will be also be GMO free.

Non-GMO Project Verified: Today more than 70 percent of the packaged foods in North America contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The top five crops contributing to this are corn, canola, soy, cotton and sugar beets. There is a Non-GMO Project Verified symbol for food packages that makes this decision easier. The Non-GMO Project is a non-profit organization that provides the only third-party labeling program in North America for products grown without using genetic engineering.

If you are looking for a sweet treat this Easter that is Organic, Fair Trade, Non-GMO, and contains no corn, soy or cane sugar then Nutiva has got the perfect product for you. Their O’Coconut classic and O’Coconut Hemp & Chia snacks are not only a delicious and fantastic alternative to candy, but they also contain lauric acid, a medium-chain fatty acid which is also found in human breast milk. They are made with lightly sweetened organic coconut flakes and full of nutrient rich coconut oil. If your little ones love something sweet the O’Coconuts will be the perfect treat to stash in their baskets.

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Justin’s has taken your favorite chocolate and peanut butter treats and made them even better by using all organic ingredients and fair trade chocolate. Their peanut butter cups come in white, dark, and milk chocolate. Plus, they recently came out with dark chocolate and milk chocolate mini peanut butter cups which will be hitting shelves in April – a great Easter Egg filler and smart snacking treat! We bet your kids won’t know the difference between Justin’s and the leading brand of peanut butter cups, but you can feel good about making sure even their treats are made with the highest quality ingredients.

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The Chocolate Lovers Kit is a great introduction to Aloha Chocolates Company and all they have to offer. Their chocolate bars are made of raw chocolate and a number of superfoods, including coconut flakes, raspberries, blueberries, and cashews, and raw cacao butter. This kit comes with 2 of these superfood chocolate bars and 5 packages of their daily good greens. These little packets can be mixed in water, foods like oatmeal or yogurt, or blended into a smoothie or milkshake! The chocolate lovers kit gives you their chocolate flavored greens powder, but they also sell their original blend and a berry blend. The greens mix includes superfoods such as moringa, spirulina, and wild blueberries. The chocolate lovers kit is one of those Easter treats that you will definitely be wanting to keep for yourself–and why not create your own little treat basket?

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Alter Eco makes organic, fair trade, and non-GMO chocolates. Their chocolates are not only yummy–an already good reason to buy them, but you can feel great about supporting a company that truly cares about where their chocolate and other ingredients come from. They also do not use any emulsifiers or artificial flavors! This sounds pretty amazing, given that they offer chocolates and truffles in a variety of delicious flavors. Some of our favorites include the sea salt truffles, salted caramel truffles, and chocolate bars in flavors such as brown butter, coconut toffee, and quinoa (yes-quinoa, for a little added crunch!). On top of making a great tasting chocolate, they are also committed to being a socially just organization. Read more about their efforts to do good and make good products here.

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For gummy candies without artificial colors, flavors, corn syrup, or gluten derived ingredients, you need to check out Surf Sweets. You can compare your favorite gummy candy brands on their website to see what you won’t be missing when you switch to Surf Sweets. Their candies are organic and made with real fruit juice! Their jelly beans and fruity bears are perfect for stuffing easter eggs, but be sure to try their peach rings, watermelon rings, gummy worms, and sour bears as well. Your kids may not be able to tell the difference between their other favorite fruity candies, but adults can appreciate a nutrition label with understandable and organic ingredients.

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For an organic and non-GMO tasty snack, reach for one of Tasty Brand’s sandwich cookies, star cookies, or fruit gummies. They carry a wide variety of sandwich cookies flavors: vanilla cupcake, chocolate layer cake, strawberry shortcake, banana split, and peanut butter cup. They also offer snack pack sized star cookies in vanilla and chocolate. Their grab-and-go fruit gummies are great for Easter baskets, or taking along to a play date, movie theatre, or a picnic. Tasty Brand is committed to top quality snacks–with no hydrogenated oils, high-fructose corn syrup, and with many non-dairy options!

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iQ chocolate makes delicious bean-to-bar chocolate bars loaded up with superfoods that are all organic. These chocolates are made in Scotland with ethically sourced ingredients. They have even partnered with two Scottish Universities to make sure to maximize the nutritional value! Their bars are designed to be single serving, each coming in at under 200 calories. They offer bars in flavors such as lime, peppermint, coffee, orange and raspberry, and their limited edition Easter chocolate bar.

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For ultimate nutritional value, raw chocolate is the way to go. This may not seem kid-friendly, but if your child likes dark chocolate, they likely will enjoy the offerings from the RAW Chocolate Company. They keep their cacao raw so that the flavor can speak for itself. All the cacao they use is fair trade and organic–meaning your purchase supports farmers to make a decent living for their hard work. We love their award winning goji berry and orange chocolate bar and we bet your little ones would enjoy the vanoffe, a vanilla-toffee flavored white chocolate bar or the vanoffe dark bar with 59% cacao. If you like to limit your kid’s sugar intake, you also might like their chocolate bars sweetened with xylitol, a natural sweetener made from Finnish Birch Trees that have proven benefits for your teeth!

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If you need to buy an Easter themed sweet treat for a special someone, Montezuma’s has you covered. They offer a variety of gift “hampers”, but we love their Easter Bunny Gift Hamper as it contains a wide variety of their finest chocolates that will satisfy any sweet tooth from April until December! However, if you don’t need quite the chocolate fix in this extra large gift basket, you can buy some of their Easter favorites such as the giant fudge milk egg or their milk chocolate bunnies. Montezuma’s is a family-owned luxury chocolate company based in the UK started by two lawyers turned self-taught chocolatiers! Check out their site online to learn more about this brand as well as the many indulgent chocolate offerings.

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When it comes to spring flavors, fresh herbs, strawberries, and carrot cake are some of the first things that come to mind for many.Wondermade has taken these classic spring flavors and infused them into their gourmet marshmallows. Each box of Wondermade marshmallows comes with 16 bite-sized marshmallows that will melt in your mouth. We think these marshmallows would be great in individual easter eggs for your egg hunt or look great in their packaging alongside other easter gifts and sweets. Check out their spring pack or their other popular flavors such as s’mores or peanut butter cup.

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For a non-candy item that still has a little sweetness and goes loosely with the Easter theme, 18 rabbits has got great snack items your child is sure to love. Their Jr. granola bars come in delicious flavors such as chocolate cherry, chocolate banana, mango strawberry, and cranberry apricot. They are smaller in size for little hands and appetites, but big on flavor. The Jr. granola cereal is also a great treat when eaten plain or can be eaten with milk or yogurt for breakfast! Their Jr. granola cereal has far less sugar than most granolas and has healthy ingredients such as chia seeds, cacao nibs, sesame seeds, and pumpkin seeds. Their bars contain organic ingredients and their granola cereal is 100% organic and non-GMO!

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Even the youngest of children will love a sweet treat in their Easter basket.Sweetie Pie Organic Snacks are a wonderful basket-filler for your little ones. They are made of the finest quality organic produce. The fruits and vegetables are grown on Organic US Farms and then freeze dried to preserve their natural taste. They are then immediately packed, leaving room for nothing but 100% fruits and vegetables. When you are choosing a great snack for your toddler that will leave them satisfied and wanting more then Sweetie Pie’s Organic Snacks will be the perfect fit this Holiday.

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Jessica

Jessica is a holistic health counselor and work from home mom living in the middle of nowhere USA with her sweet little boy! She suffers from a serious case of compulsive globe-trotting and is always counting the days until her next move or adventure. You can often find her trying to get in her exercise in by lunging through the park while chasing after her very energetic little boy! She is constantly fueled and energized by her love for healthy eating and occasionally copious amounts of caffeine.

Comments (1)

Brooke

Wow! Thank you so much for compiling this list together! My first baby isn’t due until June, but I will definitely be putting together a healthy, but sweet Easter basket together using many of these products next year.